Elephant Park Blog

With our Elephant & Castle Community Fund still open for entries, what better time to celebrate the spirit of community and kindness that is evident each day in Elephant and Castle and Southwark. In our latest blog post, we’re taking a look at some of the fantastic local organisations and individuals who inspire and support others every day, including past recipients of the Community Fund, as well as how you and your organisation can apply for a grant this year.

Salvation Army, Southwark

As well as being a place of worship, the Salvation Army in Southwark also has a team of dedicated volunteers who help with events for community members on a weekly basis. On the 2nd Sunday of the month there is an Afternoon Community Café from 2:30pm-4:30pm where locals are welcome to pop in for a hot drink and a friendly chat, as well as a Wednesday morning community drop in with showers available too.

They are currently looking for more volunteers to help at these events, so if you think you could be of help, you can email [email protected] or phone 020 7928 7136.

CoolTan Arts

CoolTan Arts is an award winning arts in mental health charity based in Elephant and Castle for adults with mental health conditions. They are founded on the ethos that ‘mental wellbeing is enhanced by the power of creativity’, and we are proud to support their projects as past community fund recipients.

Their amazing volunteers are central to how the organisation runs both the office and the vast array of activities on offer; these include everything from marketing and media to ICT to walk leaders for their guided cultural arts walk.

The organisation is a great example of locals coming together to provide others with the opportunities to succeed in the future, be that in attaining further education, employment, or supporting them when they need it most.

                                                    Source: CoolTan Arts

Paxton Green Time Bank

Paxton Green Time Bank is another local organisation supported by previous community fund grants and who do some amazing work getting locals together to help each other. With a mission to ‘give help, get help’, the traditional time-banking model has proven to be a great way of getting locals together not only to share skills, but to meet others in the local community, support each other, and further each other’s success. The organisation has noted that 87% of their members have said they have an improved wellbeing through being part of Paxton Green Time Bank, which shows the positive effects that learning new skills and sharing your own skills with others in the community can have on your life.

One of the great events they are hosting in Elephant and Castle is their Spanish-English language time-banking exchange café in partnership with Latin American Women’s Rights Service. English locals come along to swap their English with Spanish speakers, as well as enjoying some trips out together to help practice the new skills. To book your space onto this programme and get involved in helping others in the community telephone 0208 670 0990 or email [email protected] today!

                                                   Source: PG Timebank

South London Cares

We are proud to have supported this fantastic local organisation with our community fund in the past, which builds a friendly community network connecting young professionals with older neighbours.

The pace of the city can feel overwhelming for older people, often heightening loneliness and isolation, as well as increasing a social division within communities between older and younger residents. South London Cares brings people together ‘to reduce the gaps across social, generational, digital, cultural and attitudinal divides’ by connecting young people with older locals so they can visit them on a regular basis via a friendship matching scheme, as well as providing social clubs for everyone to get together.

                                              Source: South London Cares

Inspired to take your organisation to the next level? Apply for our community fund 2018

Now in its sixth year, this year’s Elephant and Castle Community Fund, in partnership with Southwark Council, is delivered through The London Community Foundation. The fund has already awarded over £175,000 in grants to community organisations, directly benefiting thousands of local people.

This year, we’ll be supporting local organisations once again with our community fund with grants of between £500 and £5,000 available from a total pot of £50,000.

Applications must address at least one of the following themes:

·         Further Education, Skill Building, Training and Entrepreneurship

·         Arts and Culture

·         Environment

·         Older Residents

·         Wellbeing

To apply for a grant from the fund for your organisation, you’ll find guidelines on the London Community Foundation website along with application form advice and information.

We are thrilled to be hosting Elephant Glow in Elephant Park this week, a series of interactive light installations designed by alumni from the London College of Communications celebrating Elephant and Castle’s past, present and future. Your presence and movements will activate the installations, which you can light up in whatever colour you like.

The unique light creations are open every day this week in the park from 4-8pm and include 3 exhibitions from the alumni; ‘Many Hands’, ‘Proximity Glow’ and ‘Fibre Grass’. The exhibitions include projected images, inspiration from the surrounding nature in the park, and interactive elements in which visitors can tweet in #ElephantGlow to change the colour of the light in the park.

Below are some pictures from the opening event last night, as well as some shots of the designers themselves building their projects. Don’t miss out on visiting this unique exhibition, register for free to visit this week here.

                           Some pre-event soldering by the LCC designers

          Testing the unique Fibre Grass installation before the opening of the event

                    The stunning interactive Fibre Grass installation in action

                            Visitors enjoying an interactive light installation

Christmas is fast approaching and as the last-minute rush for presents commences and we start winding down from work, why not get yourself into the festive spirit with a range of activities in and around Elephant Park?

Festive fun at the Artworks

The Artworks is a great place to head to at any time of year to eat, drink or socialise, but this Christmas there's even more going on.

Looking for a gift for a football mad relative then head down to the Six Yard Box on Thursday 21st to the Vintage Football Christmas Market. There will be stalls selling vintage jerseys, stickers, customer posters, books and much more. You can also enjoy a mulled cider or a wine as you look around.

Source: Six Yard Box

Afterwards enjoy a refreshing drink in the Six Yard Box where there will also be free wrapping paper available.

Whilst at the Artworks why not treat yourself to some indulgence with treats from Cupcakes and Shhht (now fully vegan), which you can find in Unit 10? They also make cakes to order so if you are hosting a Christmas gathering you can wow your friends and family with an impressive array of specially made treats (advance ordering required).

Source: Cupcakes and Shhht

Retro Christmas Pop-up

Escape the bustling streets and head to this tucked away mini Christmas market in the Lost River Elephant Bar. The Retro Christmas Market has everything from classic board games and old-school gaming machines to mulled wine, grilled bratwurst and pretzels!  

Source: LostRiversElephant.com

Carol Concerts

Enjoy your Christmas carols? Nearby Southwark Cathedral has lots on offer in the lead up to Christmas – there's a Christmas Sing-In and Carol Service on Thursday 24th, the London Concertante - Christmas Baroque by Candlelight on Saturday 23rd, and midnight mass on Christmas Eve.

Source: MarieCurie.org.uk

Have you tried one of the free outdoor fitness sessions from Our Parks UK in the park yet? Since opening our new green park space earlier this year, there has been a range of great activities for all of the local community to enjoy. Our Parks has hosted free fitness sessions in the park each week, with everything from Yoga to Afrobeats-inspired aerobics. Come rain or shine, the instructors or ‘parkers’ turn up to tone up every session. We talked to Born Barikor, CEO & Founder of Our Parks Ltd to find out more about how the initiative is such an exciting opportunity for the local community.

Source: Elephant Park

How long has the Our Parks initiative been running?

The initiative has been running for over 3 years now, and was founded on the thought that it would be great to get a community together via exercise, done in a social way. Instead, parks are part of the community. The classes are always free or very affordable and remove the barrier of big gyms and leisure centres where you don’t know what to expect. There can be a lot of issues around body image and confidence when going to the gym whereas your local park is an open space that you are familiar with. There is no pressure at all, and before attending a class people can walk past and see what happens in the sessions to get a feel for it before joining in. These are just real people having fun, and taking part in exercise! We have been hosting the sessions at Elephant Park since the park opened in the summer and they have been thriving ever since.

Source: Elephant Park

What has the feedback been like so far? Have locals been enjoying the classes?

Since the classes started there are people attending week in week out, rain or shine. When it comes to April or March time when it gets light again, the classes will grow in popularity and attendance even more. Afrobics is a really popular one, and also the bootcamps, because these classes are all about having fun and taking part with the family.

Source: Elephant Park

What do you think the initiative brings to the community?

The classes are a really good way to meet your neighbours, as you go to an exercise class to talk, socialise and relax as well as getting fit; you often don’t get this level of sociability and interaction at the gym. Coaches and ‘Parkers’ encourage the social cohesion, which is what makes the coaches different, and this type of exercise unique – the social aspect in itself empowers you to keep fit.

Are the classes at Elephant Park going to be running for the foreseeable future?

Of course, they will keep going through the winter and won’t stop through rain or shine. Our coaches love to turn up, have fun and share their experiences as a trainer.

Source: Elephant Park

Have you been to any classes, and if so, what’s your favourite one?

Afrobics is definitely my favourite because it is just great to see a group of people having fun, dancing and getting fit in an exciting way at their local park. There is no better way to show a sense of community than all dancing together, in their own outdoor, public, shared space. There are a range of classes, some for all abilities. What if you are completely new to exercise, is there a class for that?

Definitely. The classes are all about taking things at your own pace, from low to high impact classes. At Our Parks you increase things gradually, at your own level. Everyone works for 30-40 seconds as the standard duration, but within this time, it is all at your own pace. As attendees get fitter, they can increase the intensity if they want to.

Source: Elephant Park

Are there currently any opportunities for locals to apply to become an Our Parks coach?

Yes, we are always looking for new coaches, and everyone can apply on the website.

Are there any new classes coming up that haven’t been launched yet?

We are sustaining the current winter programme, which is already happening at the moment for the foreseeable, but come the end of January there will be a shaping up of the timetable to get us all ready for the summer. We are all about getting ‘park body ready’ not ‘beach body ready’!

On Saturday 9th December we held a ‘Meet your Neighbours’ event for South Gardens, our latest completed phase of the Elephant Park development. The event took the form of a small street party and was held on O’Callaghan Way to celebrate its official opening. The party was a huge success, with local residents old and new coming together to mark the occasion.

O’Callaghan Way has been named after Private Lee O’Callaghan, who was tragically killed in combat in 2004 during the Iraq War. Lee had lived on the Heygate Estate when he was first born, before him and his family moved down the road to Tatem Street. While living on the Heygate, Lee’s family had been in Swanbourne building, on Wansey Street, which was just a stone’s throw from where O’Callaghan Way now stands.

As a tribute, the street was officially opened by the Mayor of Southwark, Mayor Charlie Smith, and Lee’s mum, Shirley O’Callaghan.

To mark the occasion, Mayor Charlie Smith, said: “O’Callaghan Way will stand as a testament to a young man who gave his life for his country. A very brave young man and a local man…I’m pleased to be here to represent Southwark Council and all the people of Southwark, who will remember this day and they will remember this road for a long, long time.”

O’Callaghan Way is part of our commitment to name all streets and buildings at Elephant Park based on suggestions from the local community. Other examples on South Gardens include Bodley Way and Eider Street, which were both streets before the Heygate Estate went up and match very closely to the configurations of the new streets that have now been built.

As well as street names, the new buildings at Elephant Park have been named based on community suggestions. For example, the tallest building on South Gardens has been called Baldwin Point, after the famous herbalists on Walworth Road, G Baldwin & Co. Baldwin’s owner, Steve Dagnall, also attended the ceremony on Saturday.

Owner of G Baldwin & Co, Steve Dagnall (centre) with Elephant Park Social and Economic Development Manager, Elise John-Lewis (left) and Project Director, Rob Heasman (right)

The event, which had a fantastic turn out, gave both new residents and the existing community who live next to South Gardens the opportunity to meet and get to know each other. There was food and hot drinks provided by our amazing Artworks tenant Cupcakes and Shhht.

Music was provided throughout by Jon Glew, including some Christmas classics to get everyone in the festive mood.

There was also face painting with Kerry Young to entertain the children

After the event, many of our guests headed to the new park to watch Elephant Park Sings, our Christmas Carol service.

We wanted to say a huge thank you to everyone who came along on Saturday, the O’Callaghan family, the Mayor, Kerry Young, Jon Glew and the team from Cupcakes and Shhht at The Artworks.

Did you attend the event? Tweet us to tell us what you thought - @ElephantParkLDN

National Tree Week 

Last week was National Tree Week, the UK's largest annual tree celebration to mark the start of the winter tree planting season. 

As explained by Trees for Cities, trees in urban areas play a vital role across everything from energy conservation to enriching habitats and biodiversity, and from improving air quality to reducing flood risks. Bringing communities together to do something positive for their local tree-scape is a major focus of National Tree Week.

Our latest blog takes a look at the progress we are making when it comes to trees at Elephant Park, as well as celebrating the organisations and partners that we have worked with to help us achieve our goals.

Elephant Park’s ambition

Our plans for trees, which have been developed from the outset in partnership with the local community and Southwark Council, are incredibly ambitious. Since construction began back in 2013, our goal has been not just to safeguard over 120 existing mature trees from the Heygate Estate, but also to replace each and every tree where removal was required. To take our commitment to sustainable urban regeneration even further, we are also working to re-use the trees that have had to be removed.

We then are also committed to planting hundreds of extra trees around the area so that, by the time the project is finished, we will have increased the tree canopy across Elephant and Castle making it one of the greenest places to live in Central London.

By providing the best mix of trees, plants and growing opportunities, Elephant Park will attract wildlife, improve drainage and air quality, as well as provide great visual amenity. Our development includes a wide variety of trees to ensure the benefits are varied and broad, from Plane trees, which help remove pollutants from the air, to Shadbush and Sweetgum, which attract wildlife and provide beautiful seasonal colours. Apple, oak and cherry trees have also been planted, as well as flowering trees such as magnolia, which attract different types of insects.

The Park is open 

Our brand new Park, which opened this summer, celebrates existing mature trees that have been retained from the Heygate Estate with the first phase home to 10 existing mature trees. To find out more about the park, visit our website here.

The first phase of the new park is home to 10 mature trees

A new community is taking shape and trees are at its heart

We have now completed over 900 homes in Elephant & Castle and our homes are surrounded by carefully landscaped spaces, enabling residents and those passing through to take advantage of a healthy, biodiverse environment and a green streetscape.

Our recently completed South Gardens phase, which was crowned Supreme Winner at the 2017 Brick Awards, also benefits from beautifully landscaped courtyards, where mature London Plane trees grow alongside newly planted trees such as Tibetan Cherry, Lime and ornamental Crab Apple, amongst many more species.

South Gardens mixes retained London Plane trees from the Heygate Estate with new and diverse tree species

A combined commitment

We have teamed up with a fantastic organisation, Lantern, who helped us work out how to re-use the timber from the trees we needed to remove. Lantern has been instrumental in helping us to build relationships with local community sites such as Art in the Park and Heliconia Furniture to put the wood to the best uses possible.

With Lantern we delivered a creative tree re-use scheme, which saw the trees milled, transformed and reinstated on site as indoor and outdoor furniture. After the furniture was complete we worked with Lantern to identify alternative uses for the remainder of the wood to ensure nothing was wasted, which consisted of community based organisations being given wood to use in their activities.

Our vision

To mark National Tree Week, we planted our 900th off-site tree this week in the Alberta Estate and were joined by London’s Deputy Mayor for Environment and Energy, Shirley Rodrigues, and Southwark Council’s Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Safety, Councillor Barrie Hargrove.

Right to left: Rob Heasman (Elephant Park Project Director), Shirley Rodrigues (Deputy Mayor, Environment & Energy), Councillor Barrie Hargrove (Cabinet Member for Communities, Leisure and Safety at Southwark Council)

Also there to mark the occasion was Elephant Park Project Director, Rob Heasman, who said: “Our extensive and ambitious tree planting programme has been developed in direct response to local community feedback and is an integral part of our ambition to be one of the most sustainable inner-city urban regeneration projects in the world. It’s with great pride that we are able to celebrate the planting of our 900th off-site tree during National Tree Week.”

Also commenting on the occasion, Shirley Rodrigues said: “I’m pleased to help plant the 900th tree today and it’s great that the Elephant and Castle community will benefit from the new trees being delivered.  The Mayor wants to encourage all new developments, like Elephant Park, to prioritise public green spaces and infrastructure, from trees, to community gardens, play spaces and green roofs.”

The Elephant and Castle Community Fund, delivered in partnership by Lendlease and Southwark Council, supports a diverse range of projects and workshops in the local community each year. Originally set up in 2012, we are proud to have donated £25k once again to this year’s fund alongside Southwark Council to support a range of organisations’ projects from support work to arts projects for young people in the area. Our final Community Fund Blog Series post looks at what Cool Tan Arts plans to do with their new grant.

Source: Cool Tan Arts

Who are Cool Tan Arts?

CoolTan Arts is a mental health charity based in Elephant & Castle offering a range of activities for adults with mental health conditions. The charity’s ethos centres on improving mental wellbeing through creativity. Their HQ also provides a fully accessible arts centre, public art gallery and multi-purpose art studios. 

With over 25 years' experience in the field of arts and mental health, the organisation delivers courses, workshops and volunteering opportunities to help locals gain skills to re-enter the worlds of education, employment and the community. They also provide support to help with members’ recovery and ongoing mental wellbeing. Workshops on offer include visual arts, textiles, creative writing, as well as short courses in everything from IT to yoga. The organisation’s volunteer programme also offers opportunities in office administration, teaching assistance, communications, fundraising, archiving, exhibition and events assistance.

What are they going to do with their grant?

CoolTan Arts aims to open up the conversation around mental health in the local community, so that local people can talk to them when they need help. Feedback from the organisations’ beneficiaries has shown that activities such as creative workshops, self-advocacy, cooking, public events such as art exhibitions and public walks have helped them feel well and increased their quality of life.

With the new grant, CoolTan Arts will expand their ‘CoolWalks’ project, in which people with mental health issues create and lead cultural walks around London. The weekly South London walks have been running for over ten years, offering locals and visitors an alternative to the usual tourist walk by presenting the area’s true diversity, culture and heritage. Last year at least 70 people with mental health issues benefited from CoolWalks public walks and training, evidenced by the anecdotal fall in the dependency of some of the participants’ high level support and visits to GPs.

Each walk is researched and delivered by volunteers, and the trained guides are encouraged to craft the stories they feel are important, based on research and training. Last year the organisation worked with over 30 volunteers to create 7 new local walks, and in turn, 30% of volunteers who participated later progressed to paid employment.

The fund will be used to grow their trained volunteer base to help with the creation of established walks and training more volunteer guides. It will also be used to restructure the CoolWalks project alongside the principles of social enterprise, so that it becomes a self-sustaining project by 2018.

Source: Cool Tan Arts

Following the opening of the first phase of our new park earlier this year, we were delighted to be able to hold a Guy Fawkes Night event at Elephant Park on Sunday. The event featured a beautifully-choreographed fireworks display set to music and performances from local dancers and musicians. Here’s how the evening went.

With the event over-subscribed, we were at full capacity with 500 guests from the community making their way in as gates opened at 5pm.

Crisp, seasonal weather set the scene for a fantastic evening to come. 

We were entertained by the fantastic South London Samba.

And the brilliant Uncle Aug

The spectacular, choreographed fireworks display by Titanium lit up the skies around Elephant Park, accompanied by a sound-track created especially for the event.

A stunning fireworks display overlooking the retained trees in the park.

We warmed up with food and drink courtesy of some of our friends from The Artworks Elephant, including Cupcakes and Shhht, The Frenchie and Six Yard Box before heading home as the event drew to a close at 7pm.

The Elephant and Castle Community Fund 2017 delivered in partnership with Southwark Council will share £50,000 between a range of community organisations to support a diverse collection of local projects. We are proud to have donated to the fund to support an amazing range of community projects. This next post in our Community Fund 2017 blog series looks at what Paxton Green Time Bank has planned with their new grant.

Source: Paxton Green Time Bank

Paxton Green Time Bank’s work in the community

Paxton Green Time Bank is all about working together to share skills and network within the local community, with the ethos ‘give help, get help’. The organisation was originally set up by a group of local GPs, and became an independent entity in 2009. It works on the traditional time banking model where local people can volunteer to help another member for an hour, for example with some sewing, and for each hour they volunteer, they receive a credit which can be exchanged for an hour of someone else’s time. This creates an amazing local network packed with a diverse range of skills with something for everyone, from gardening to music lessons. 

When developing new skills with others, this also allows locals to foster new social networks, enabling members to improve not just their skills, but their own confidence and self-esteem as they build new relationships in the community, and collaborate with other volunteering organisations.

How can the fund help?

The time bank has been awarded just over £4000 to fund a series of language conversation sessions and social trips for 35 women in the local community. 

Keeping in line with the time bank ethos of collaboration and coproduction, the organisation will work in partnership with Latin American Women’s Rights Service (LAWRS) to develop a language exchange time banking hub. As participants develop their skills over the year, the project will be handed over to them with the aim of becoming self-sustainable. During the fortnightly three-hour sessions held at LAWRS HQ, Spanish/English hosted conversation will be hosted by LAWRS’ service users, Latin American women and local Paxton Green Time Bank members. These women will all earn one credit for every hour they spend sharing their skills, which they can then use to get help for themselves that matches their own needs.

Alongside the new project there will also be monthly outings to places of cultural interest aimed at practising language skills. As the project progresses, this will open up even more social opportunities for the women outside of the formal language exchange group, such as film nights and a range of social outings. 

As well as developing the participants’ language skills, the project also aims to develop their confidence and increase opportunities for entering further education, volunteering or applying for paid employment.

Source: Paxton Green Time Bank

Inspired by the lives of people in Elephant & Castle

If you’ve been along to our new park recently you may have spotted the colourful deckchairs. Did you know though that these are not just any deckchairs? They are in fact ‘Data Deckchairs’ uniquely designed by London College of Communication (LCC) graphic and media design graduate Lauren Vaughan, to celebrate the opening of the new Elephant Park. Design students and graduates were challenged as part of the S*PARK Exhibition at LCC for the London Design Festival 2017 to invent activations for the new park, Central London’s newest green space.

What is a ‘Data Deckchair’?

The five ‘Data Deckchairs’ were created from research interviews with community members who live and work in Elephant and Castle. Every deckchair holds unique chromatic and numeric data relating to a specific local person’s country of birth, languages spoken and relationship to the area. All of this adds up to inspire the colours that make up the stripes on each deckchair.

The data representing these life events was created with the kind co-operation of Katherine Zuleta Gil, Shamin Uddin, Andy NG, Sola Rowe and Zhixiang Yuan: the five community members that agreed to be interviewed. Their data was extracted and organised using a precise data key stripe system created specifically for this project by Lauren Vaughan. This complex and intricate system combines variations of colour and stripe thickness, relating to each individual’s personal story.

Inspired by the seaside

Following her final year degree project, which was inspired by the colours and traditional designs found at classic British seaside resorts, designer Lauren jumped at the chance to be involved in this ‘Data Deckchairs’ project.

“For me traditional deckchair stripes echo a strong cultural symbol for Britain and its seaside heritage. This exciting project gave me the chance to merge my design focus and interest in data visualisation to redesign and generate a new symbol and meaning to the iconic British deckchair; making the object personal and unique to the individual’s existence” comments Lauren.

Diversity and community

Elephant and Castle has been described as ‘Super-diverse’ in a report by the London School of Economics, and this collaborative project celebrates diversity whilst embedding an iconic object – the deckchair – as a symbol for a community that is united through its social mix and uniqueness. The deckchairs act as timelines of individual lives and are a tribute to the Elephant’s vibrant community.

All of the deckchairs have a special place in Lauren’s heart as well as the individuals who they were created to represent. “I’ve had some great feedback from people who were fascinated to know how they were created. Andy NG is so well-travelled; he’s lived in lots of different countries and speaks four languages making his deckchair so diverse in its colour scheme and I personally love the colours in Katherine Zuleta Gils” says Lauren.

A bright future

“Elephant and Castle has a bright future ahead”, according to Lauren, who has a bright future ahead herself, as she is about the embark on a Masters in print and design and has been inspired to explore data visualisation further.

Alongside Southwark Council, we have donated again to this year’s Elephant and Castle Community Fund so that a range of diverse community organisations are able to provide new projects and workshops for local residents. We are proud to fund a range of amazing organisations who provide everything from support work to skills- building and education projects in and around the local area. This blog series looks at what our 2017 Community Fund recipients plan to do with their grant with this third post looking at what Art in The Park has been up to this summer.

Source: Art in The Park

Art in The Park’s work in the community

This local charity was founded in 1996 by English poet and artist Kate Miller, devoted to enriching Londoners’ lives and surroundings through the visual arts. The organisation runs a collection of art, environmental and heritage-based projects, as well as education and training workshops at their studios in Burgess Park, with the aim of making art accessible to all. The team works with a range of ages in the community from children and young people in local schools to older residents, including those in local care homes.

Project

Art in The Park was awarded just over £3000 by Lendlease and Southwark Council to support its Green Elephant Drawing Club for children and young people in the local area. Run in partnership with InSpire Youth Service, Art in The Park coordinated a series of six workshops run by their newest artist in residence, Florence Goodhand Tait whose work has been exhibited in local spaces such as the Camberwell on the Green exhibition and the Look Here Exhibition in the Copeland Gallery. These sessions were founded in celebration of the local area, and included visits to green spaces in Newington, Elephant Park, St Mary's Churchyard, Nursery Row Park, and the Tibetan Peace Garden at the Imperial War Museum. During the visits the team would discuss work by local artists who look to the local area for inspiration, such as Reuben Powell or Clara Pope’s illustrations of Walworth’s garden history. Participants were then supported to create work inspired by the artist and the environment around them. In the final session participants curated their own exhibition in the Art in the Park studios.

What’s next for Art in The Park?

Art in The Park’s Burgess Park studios always have an exciting line-up of events from pottery classes to art groups for older residents. For more information on what is happening at the studios, visit the website.

Source: Art in The Park

As big fans of delicious food, tasty drinks, and must-see experiences our taste buds can’t wait for the launch of the very first World Food Festival taking place at The Artworks Elephant this weekend (23-24th September). Offering you the chance to taste flavours and dishes from around the globe, the festival celebrates the coming together of the global community that The Artworks Elephant has developed over the past three years.

From truly authentic Mauritian dishes courtesy of Marcel and Sons, to traditional Greek souvlaki wraps from The Athenian; there is something to tickle everyone’s taste buds. From Crafty Chefs hosting children’s emoji cupcake decorating and fruit kebab classes, to cocktail making classes hosted by mobile cocktail bar, Pursuit Cocktails, in the evenings; the tastes of both kids and grown-ups will be catered to perfectly.

To support the World Food Festival, Lost Rivers Elephant will be hosting Carnaval de Cuba, a celebration of Latin culture, food, and music to create the perfect party atmosphere to get Elephant Road bustling with music, food and activities.

The Elephant and Castle Community Fund 2017, delivered in partnership with Southwark Council, will donate £50,000 to a range of community organisations to deliver new projects from education and skill building projects, to helping older residents in the area. Our new blog series takes a look at what the winners have planned with this post, the second in our series of five, taking a look at the Latin American Disabled People's Project.

Source: Latin American Disabled People's Project

The work of the Latin American Disabled People's Project

LADPP has been awarded £5,000 by Lendlease and Southwark Council to deliver a new mental health and wellbeing support programme to the Latin American community in Southwark. Founded in 1989, the Latin American Disabled People's Project was created by a group of parents that had children and other family members suffering from disabilities. However, due to the high demand for services, in 2012 they expanded their services to non-disabled people. The group specifically helps disabled Spanish and Portuguese speakers living in London, working to diminish the scale of the issues their community faces.

The group and their 74 volunteers help their members with an amazing range of support topics from welfare to housing advice as well as providing ongoing mental health and wellbeing advice and educational opportunities. 

Expanding their work with the help of the Community Fund

The £5,000 Community Fund donation will help the organisation expand their existing wellbeing and mental health project with the employment of a part-time mental health co-ordinator as well as co-ordinating two volunteers to support with one-to-one mental health support and befriending. The following opportunities, which were requested following a survey of existing service users, will be delivered to the local community:

• 12 two-hour workshops delivering alternative therapy and physical wellbeing sessions such as yoga, reflexology, aromatherapy and breathing techniques. • One-to-one language support and group English and I.T. daily classes (Monday to Thursday) for up to 60 people to improve communication and language skills. • Weekly two-hour sessions of ‘Helping to Manage Your Physical Health and Well-being’, a workshop aiming to help users learn about managing long-term physical health conditions, such as diabetes and asthma. It also covers making health-related lifestyle changes and improving nutritional intake. • One-to-one mental health support targeted at relieving stress and helping users access community based mental health services. • A befriending service for vulnerable and isolated people.

Who will benefit from the Community Fund?

These expanded services will reach out to almost 450 local people to improve their wellbeing as well as increasing other users’ access to the NHS, focusing on elderly people who feel vulnerable and isolated in the community, as well as single parents facing a crisis such as homelessness or unemployment and new arrivals to London.

Source: Latin American Disabled People's Project

Last month saw the opening of the first phase of our new park at the centre of our development, in the heart of Elephant and Castle. Existing mature trees, children’s play space and green spaces make this park a fantastic new public space for the community. Check out what’s been happening in the park so far, and the exciting range of community events which are still to come.

Facilities

Existing mature trees preserved from the Heygate Estate provide a beautiful green backdrop for the children’s play area. A play walk area at the eastern edge of the park provides a mixture of fun challenges for the kids including climbing areas, slides, ropes, ladders and a sandpit. The park also provides natural play that forms part of the landscape, so parents can kick back and relax with a picnic on the benches as their kids enjoy a playful day out.

Events and sessions

A performance space within the park has already been used for an amazing range of free community events such as our #SummerSeries live music programme. The line-up has featured a diverse range of top names such as Kasai Masai and Bring your Own Brass, with Wilderness Festival Main Stagers The Turbans on the upcoming programme. Fast on its way to becoming a vibrant community hub, the park is excited to be showcasing talent from both local creatives and musicians from further afield.

Our #SummerSeries gigs are happening for the rest of the month (subject to the weather of course!), each Wednesday in the park from 6-8pm with the following line up:

o   13th September: Hear the mesmerising sounds of The Turbans this week. Check out their unique sound before you attend here.

o   20th September: South London All Skas are next in the line-up, check out their work here.

o   27th September: Owl Parliament Choir are the closing act for our #SummerSeries gig line-up, so be sure to visit

 In addition to the live music sessions, the park also plays host to free fitness sessions each week with Our Parks, with something for everyone, of all abilities. Whether you are a fitness fanatic, completely new to exercise classes, or want to get back into the routine, their classes at the park have something for you. The regular Afrobeats-inspired class Afrobics is an invigorating, fun and unique aerobics workout for all abilities, giving participants a chance to have fun whilst getting fit in the great outdoors. There is also a regular yoga class, so you can improve flexibility, strength, and all round fitness, with Elephant Park as your backdrop. Check out the class programme on their site here.

For family fun and entertainment for the little ones the Park is playing host to free storytelling for the kids on 20th September at 10am and on 30th September The Walworth Festival is coming to the Park bringing stalls, music, performances, arts and local history to the area.

Opening times

The park is open 365 days a year including Christmas and New Year’s Day, so there’s always a time you can visit with your family and friends, whether it be on a morning run, or an evening stroll. Keep an eye on our blog and website for news and updates on the next phase of the park as we continue to create Central London’s new green heart.

The Elephant and Castle Community Fund 2017, delivered in partnership with Southwark Council, received 36 applications this year all bidding for a share of a £50,000 fund for their project. With 11 successful projects, each receiving a share of the fund donated by Lendlease & Southwark Council, this series of blogs will take a look at some of the deserving winners.

Life is a cabaret, old chum Our first post in the series is about a company called Duckie that will be bringing a ‘Daytime Nightclub’ for over 60s to Elephant and Castle.

The organisation behind the idea has been awarded £5,000, plus an additional grant from the United St Saviour’s Charity, to enable them to bring a cabaret event to the area on a weekly basis for 15 weeks from December 2017. Starting in the Town Centre for the first five weeks, Duckie will create an ‘unexpected oasis of joy’ for shoppers to stumble across before the event moves to a community venue for 10 additional weeks.

Up to 80 guests will be served 1940s afternoon tea by waiters wearing black tie while enjoying cabaret acts, vintage crockery and an in-house pianist. A worthy winner, Duckie encapsulates the community spirit that is at the heart of our Community Fund. With an emphasis on glamour combined with regular access to entertainment and social connectivity, the events will bring older people and local volunteers together to dance, make friends and have fun.

A good old knees up As Duckie Producer, Simon Casson, said himself “It is more like an afternoon at The Ritz than a voluntary service.  Tell your Mum, tell your Nan and bring your Grandad for a knees up!”

Rob Heasman, Lendlease’s Project Director at Elephant Park, said: “We’re confident that Duckie is going to be really well-received. Elephant and Castle is London’s most exciting place to live, work and visit. We’re delighted to welcome something so glamorous and entertaining to what has historically been referred to as the ‘Piccadilly of the South’. There is something special happening in Elephant and Castle, it’s great that Duckie is going to be part of it.”

More worthy winners Other beneficiaries of the Elephant and Castle Community Fund 2017 include the over 65’s fitness and socialising charity Silverfit, the Latin American Disabled People’s Project, the Afro-Brazilian Arts and Cultural Exchange Institute, South London Cares and the Future Theatre Company.  The fund aims to build on the strengths of local people, celebrate the rich cultural diversity of the area and support people most in need. For the second time, Lendlease and Southwark Council have each donated £25,000 support the Elephant and Castle community.

This Sunday - 16th July - marks Disability Awareness Day, a pan disability event which promotes a can-do culture focusing on what disabled people can do throughout life and work. In a city of hustle and bustle like London, accessibility can be a major issue for many Londoners. At Elephant Park we’re building a community that will meet the needs of all future residents and accessibility is a key part of this. From wheelchair accessible homes across the development, to improved infrastructure and accessible transport links on your doorstep, it is our aim to make Elephant Park one of the most liveable new places in London.  

To celebrate everything that is great about London life, we’ve set out to find some of the best and most accessible attractions in our capital city all within a short distance of Elephant Park.

1. Science Museum Fully wheelchair-accessible, the Science Museum is known to cater particularly well for disabled visitors, with large print displays, information in Braille and even a Makaton language resource for those with communicative disabilities. The museum also hosts SIGNtific on the first Saturday of every month, a Deaf-led family event with voiceover interpreters.

2. London Eye Plan for a clear day or early evening and take in awe-inspiring views across London and most of the city’s major landmarks. Carers accompanying a paying disabled guest are given free entry as well!

3. Southbank Centre A world-famous arts centre, the Southbank Centre houses an astonishing range of events, featuring musicians, comedians, dancers, artists and more. With a growing list of accessible performances here, the Centre is also home to Unlimited, a festival celebrating the artistic vision and originality of disabled artists.

4. Tower of London The dark and fascinating history of the Tower of London can be explored on an accessible tour with the option of a British Sign Language interpreter if required. Visitors with limited mobility can take a fascinating virtual tour of the Medieval Palace plus wall walks. Wheelchair hire is also available for your visit.

5. Shakespeare’s Globe Exhibition and Tour A fully accessible tour giving you the chance to earn all about the legendary 17th-century playwright. Step-free access is available to all areas of the theatre plus low-level display cases for wheelchair users. There are also descriptive text panels and recorded commentaries throughout the exhibition as well as braille panels for visually impaired visitors.

6. Natural History Museum With audio descriptive guides, a British Sign Language interpreters, and braille/large print format guides at many of the gallery’s entrances, the Natural History Museum makes a tour of the wonders of the natural world easily accessible to all.

When it comes to living life to the full and enjoying everything London has to offer, there are a great number of resources available online that aim to sign-post more accessible venues and attractions. They include DisabledGo and Inclusive London, in addition to communities which provide advice and support like Disability Horizons.

At Elephant Park, 10% of the homes will be wheelchair accessible and the latest of these at West Grove are now on sale. Find more info here and tweet us with more recommendations for fun, accessible places to visit in London.

Futurehome is on its way to Elephant Park, our award-winning urban regeneration project which will deliver 3,000 new homes by 2025. Along with a brand-new park, 50 new shops, restaurants and cafes it will also deliver net-zero carbon energy to all the new homes.

Futurehome is a collection of 15 three and four-bedroom townhouses in Elephant Park, designed to world-leading Passivhaus standards. These homes go beyond conventional design practices for urban cities and are setting a new standard for sustainable residential architecture.

In the second part of our blog series introducing the Futurehome concept, we spoke to founding partner Gerard Maccreanor about the unique opportunities and challenges associated with designing these ultra-progressive sustainable homes.

Gerard Maccreanor, founding partner, Maccreanor Lavington Architects 

What most inspired you about the design brief for Futurehome?

“I was excited about the brief for Futurehome because I had already been experimenting with environmentally-innovative homes and trialling building my own house to Passivhaus standards. I believe that this is the future of housebuilding, so it was a great opportunity to put some of my learnings into practice and at the same time take on the challenge of designing a progressive development in Central London.”

Futurehome at Elephant Park features Triple glazed windows to maintain warmth and reduce noise

Tell us a bit more about the Passivhaus standard and what it means in practice

“  The Passivhaus standard has been around since the late 1980s, it was a construction methodology that was developed through universities in Germany at that time. Today there are 30,000 Passivhauses built around the world and as its popularity continues to grow, we will see many more built in the UK in the coming years.

Passivhaus buildings are buildings which provide a high level of occupant comfort while using very little energy for heating and cooling.  This is achieved by adopting a highly rigorous and detailed approach when it comes to the fabric of the building, along with the careful design and installation of a ventilation system. In practice, this means  warmer homes, lower bills, improved comfort levels,  improved indoor air quality, and a reduced carbon footprint.

Futurehome’s air management system removes smoke, dust and pollen so you breath fresh, filtered air

What goes into designing a home to Passivhaus standards and what are some of the challenges?

We worked with WARM Consultants a specialist advisor to design the homes. One of the most challenging things to realise in designing a home to Passivhaus standards is air tightness, which along with an air management system, is what helps keep the homes at a comfortable temperature. In older properties, there is a lot of draught, which then requires you to heat your home to high temperatures because you feel cold. In a Passivhaus, there is no air movement so you instantly feel more comfortable in the home at a lower temperature.

“However, this is very complicated to achieve. All the joints and holes within the building must be sealed and the house has to be tested to make sure that there is no air leakage Triple glazed windows maintain warmth and reduce noise, and the air management system filters out any pollen and dust whilst ensuring that the house is kept at a comfortable temperature.”

Futurehome features window shutters which reduce summer heat levels to ensure a comfortable year-round environment

From an architectural perspective what do you think is most progressive about the Futurehome concept?

“From an architectural perspective, the most progressive thing about the Futurehome concept is that it achieves a superior level of performance with the aid of advanced technologies, whilst still inherently being a traditional house.

“For the Futurehome collection, we wanted to create a new version of a Victorian terraced property with high ceilings, traditional brick facades and large bay windows. These Futurehomes not only reflect the local context, but are properties that will weather well and grow old gracefully thereby retaining their value, We certainly didn’t want to create a project that was ‘bling’ - that showed its eco credentials with windmills and various attachments.

“By designing Futurehome properties to Passivhaus standards we are creating homes that are truly progressive in helping to reduce a homeowner’s carbon footprint and lowering overall energy consumption. This energy consumption can be about 75% less than you would find in normal new build houses and about 90% less than you would find in a traditional home.”

Futurehome at Elephant Park features well-proportioned private outdoor spaces

What do you think the wider architecture community could learn from the Futurehome concept?

“Sustainable architecture doesn’t have to look like sustainable architecture. A development that fits into its surroundings is very important. With Elephant Park’s South Gardens, when the project is delivered and when the hoardings come down, I think you will see a very consistent street profile that fits into the community.

“It is important to ensure that homes like these become the standard for housebuilding in urban residential settings. The government is concerned with reducing our carbon footprint and Futurehome represents an important step towards that goal. You will see many more houses with a Passivhaus certification in the future and we hope this product will be normal in 10 years’ time.”

To register your interest in Futurehome please contact our sales team at [email protected] or visit futurehomelondon.co.uk